Fecal incontinence: an up-to-date critical overview of surgical treatment options

Background Surgery is the last resort for patients suffering from severe fecal incontinence. The armamentarium of surgical options for this condition has increased impressively during the last decade. Nevertheless, this fact seems to make neither patients nor surgeons feel more comfortable. Treatment of fecal incontinence still remains a challenge to modern medicine due to many specific sides of this problem.Aims This article gives an up-to-date overview of existing operative treatment options.Methods An unbiased review of relevant literature was performed to assess the role of all methods of surgical treatment for fecal incontinence available nowadays.Results Recent studies have shown poor late results after primary sphincter repair and low predictive value for most preoperative diagnostic tests. New surgical options such as artificial devices and electrically stimulated muscle transpositions are doomed by low success rates and unacceptably frequent complications. That is why current attention has focused on non- or minimally invasive therapies such as sacral nerve stimulation and temperature-controlled radio-frequency energy delivery to the anal canal. However, all these innovative techniques remain experimental till enough high-evidence data are gathered for their objective evaluation.Conclusion Careful and detailed preoperative assessment to exactly determine the etiology of incontinence and individual approach remain the cornerstones of surgical treatment of fecal incontinence nowadays.